Methods and apparatus to detect content skipping by a consumer of a recorded program are disclosed. An example disclosed apparatus includes a segment identifier to identify a first number of times a media segment was fast-forwarded and a second number of times the media segment was rewound; and a recapture identifier to determine whether the media segment was recaptured based on a comparison of the first number of times and the second number of times.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. An apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered: retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware.
An apparatus detects when a recorded TV program is skipped (fast-forwarded or rewound). It timestamps each section of the recording with the time of day it was recorded. When the program is played back, the apparatus retrieves the recording timestamps for two sections and their corresponding playback times. It then calculates the difference between the recording times (recording interval) and compares it to the difference between the playback times (playback interval). If these intervals don't match, the apparatus identifies the program portion as skipped content (not played in real time). The time stamper, memory, presentation time retriever, detector, or non-real time content identifier includes hardware.
2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the presentation time retriever is triggered periodically in response to expiration of a time period.
A system retrieves and presents time-sensitive information, such as notifications or alerts, based on predefined time intervals. The system includes a presentation time retriever that activates at regular intervals, triggered by the expiration of a set time period. When triggered, the retriever accesses a data source to fetch relevant information, such as updates, reminders, or alerts, and presents this information to a user or another system component. The system ensures that time-sensitive data is delivered consistently and predictably, improving reliability in applications where timely information is critical, such as monitoring systems, scheduling tools, or real-time data feeds. The periodic triggering mechanism ensures that information is retrieved and displayed without manual intervention, reducing the risk of missed updates. The system may also include additional components, such as a data processor to format the retrieved information or a display interface to present it in a user-friendly manner. This approach enhances efficiency in environments where continuous or scheduled data retrieval is necessary.
3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the time period is 2.7 seconds.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered periodically in response to expiration of a time period, retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. The timestamp retrieval process is triggered automatically every 2.7 seconds.
4. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the time period is adjustable.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered periodically in response to expiration of a time period, retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. The time period that triggers the timestamp retrieval process can be adjusted.
5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 , wherein the presentation time retriever is further to: shorten the time period to achieve more accurate identification of portions of the recorded program that were not played back in real time; and lengthen the time period to achieve less accurate identification of portions of the recorded program that were not played back in real time.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered periodically in response to expiration of a time period, retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. Furthermore, the time period that triggers the timestamp retrieval process can be shortened for more accurate skipping detection or lengthened for less accurate detection.
6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the presentation time retriever is triggered asynchronously in response to detection of an event.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered asynchronously in response to detection of an event, retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. Instead of a timer, the timestamp retrieval process is triggered by a specific event.
7. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the presentation time retriever is triggered by periodic expiration of a time period and asynchronously in response to detection of an event.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered by periodic expiration of a time period and asynchronously in response to detection of an event, retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. The timestamp retrieval process is triggered by both a timer and a specific event.
8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time corresponds to an advertisement and the advertisement was advanced faster than real time.
The apparatus to detect portions of a recorded program that were not played back in real time, the apparatus comprising: a time stamper to record a plurality of recording times associated with a recorded program, respective ones of the recording times indicating times of day at which respective sections of the recorded program were recorded; memory to store the recorded program; a presentation time retriever to, when triggered retrieve a first one of the recording times associated with a first one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; retrieve a second one of the recording times associated with a second one of the sections of the recorded program being played back; store the first one of the recording times in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store the second one of the recording times in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; a detector to compare the first one of the recording times and the second one of the recording times to calculate a recording interval, and a non-real time content identifier to identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval, at least one of the time stamper, the memory, the presentation time retriever, the detector, or the non-real time content identifier including hardware. The portion of the recorded program identified as skipped corresponds to an advertisement that was fast-forwarded.
9. A method of developing usage data with respect to a recorded program, the method comprising: storing, by executing an instruction with a processor, recording times associated with sections of the recorded program, the recording times representing times of day at which respective ones of the sections were recorded; playing back, by executing an instruction with the processor, first and second ones of the sections; in response to a trigger: storing, by executing an instruction with the processor, a first one of the recording times corresponding to the first one of the sections in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; storing, by executing an instruction with the processor, a second one of the recording times corresponding to the second one of the sections in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; comparing, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first one of the recording times and a second one of the recording times to generate a recording interval, and identifying, by executing an instruction with the processor, a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions.
10. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the trigger occurs periodically in response to the expiration of a time period.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The timestamp retrieval is triggered periodically, based on a timer.
11. The method as defined in claim 10 wherein the time period is adjustable.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The time period that triggers the timestamp retrieval process can be adjusted.
12. The method as defined in claim 11 , further including: shortening the time period to achieve more accurate usage data; lengthening the time period to achieve less accurate usage data.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The time period can be shortened for more precise usage data or lengthened for less precise data.
13. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the trigger occurs in response to detection of an event.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The timestamp retrieval is triggered by a specific event.
14. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the trigger occurs in response to expiration of an evenly space time period and in response to detection of an event.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The timestamp retrieval is triggered both periodically (by a timer) and by a specific event.
15. The method as defined in claim 9 wherein the portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time corresponds to an advertisement and the advertisement was advanced faster than real time.
A method tracks viewing habits by recording when each section of a recorded program was originally captured. When the program is watched, the method logs the recording time of two separate sections along with their playback times. By comparing the interval between the original recording times to the interval between playback times, the method detects if parts of the program were skipped during viewing (fast-forwarded or rewound). The steps are performed by a processor executing instructions. The portion identified as skipped corresponds to an advertisement that was fast-forwarded.
16. A tangible machine readable storage device disk comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least: store recording times in association with sections of a recorded program, wherein the recording times represent times of day at which respective ones of the sections were recorded; in response to a trigger: store a first one of the recording times corresponding to a first one of the sections in association with a first playback time of the first one of the sections; store a second one of the recording times corresponding to a second one of the sections in association with a second playback time of the second one of the sections; generate a recording interval by comparing the first one of the recording times and a second one of the recording times, and identify a portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time based on a detected difference between the recording interval and a playback interval.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content.
17. The storage disk as defined in claim 16 wherein the trigger occurs in response to periodic expiration of a time period.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The timestamp retrieval process is triggered periodically, based on a timer.
18. The storage disk as defined in claim 17 wherein the time period is adjustable.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The time period that triggers the timestamp retrieval process can be adjusted.
19. The storage disk as defined in claim 18 , wherein the instructions further cause the machine to: shorten the time period to achieve more accurate recording interval; lengthen the time period to achieve less accurate recording interval.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The time period can be shortened for more accurate detection or lengthened for less accurate detection.
20. The storage disk as defined in claim 16 wherein the trigger occurs in response to detection of an event.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The timestamp retrieval process is triggered by a specific event.
21. The storage disk as defined in claim 16 wherein the trigger occur in response to expiration of a time period and detection of an event.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The timestamp retrieval is triggered both periodically (by a timer) and by a specific event.
22. The storage disk as defined in claim 16 wherein the portion of the recorded program that was not played back in real time corresponds to an advertisement and the advertisement was advanced faster than real time.
A computer-readable storage disk contains instructions to detect skipped sections of a recorded TV program. The instructions cause the computer to store the recording time of each program section. When played back, the computer logs the recording times of two sections and their playback times. By comparing the difference between the recording times and the difference between playback times, the computer can identify skipped content. The portion identified as skipped corresponds to an advertisement that was fast-forwarded.
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May 17, 2016
August 22, 2017
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